I have this odd phrase, unique to me or not, for summers nowadays: the in-between. As the school year winds down on my freshmen year, stress runs through my mind more than a reflection of the year. Being a college freshman in the last stretch of her first year, trapped under the stressor of finals week, my mind has taken me into a realm of reflection, seeing all that I've learned, encountered, and experienced.

Reflections often come with their own realizations, things we don't always fully understand or interpret at the moment; much of my reflection-based realizations really came from that weird in-between high school graduation and freshman year of college. So for those graduating high school seniors, or otherwise known as incoming college freshmen, here are some things I've realized what they didn't tell me about after high school, before college, or the in-between of academic change:

1. It may not seem like such a vital time, but it really can be.

Think about it, this time is where you're really leaving something behind to move on to the next; every other summer you knew what was coming for you in the following months, unlike now. It's this time where you don't have the same weight of knowing what you've got to expect to prepare for. Of course there is still registration for classes and gathering the things you'll need for the next year, but other than that, this time becomes so freeing which makes it so vital to use wisely and thoughtfully.

2. But it's okay to take a day or two to just be rest, to be lazy, to just be with yourself.

Like I said, treating this odd but special time is important but so are you. Something I've heavily had to do with myself is having to take myself out of all these extra plans and take time for myself, to regenerate. Practicing this during a time you're not exactly bound to responsibilities, giving you the ability to exercise your choice of organizing time.

Hopefully, in this time, you put forth times dedicated to just you, as emphasized. Teaching yourself these tactics only betters acclimating yourself when you are in the academic environment and under a school time and schedule.

3. You and your friends get to celebrate this accomplishment, going into the next phase of life.

Graduation parties, they are everywhere (believe me I know, I once was invited to 4 of them in one day). The essence of #gradszn is sometimes A LOT. But let's be honest, it is worth celebrating because any phase of school is a very long, and somethings hard, phase of life. We get to see our friends going through the same right of passage we are experiencing, something we sometimes forget by simply labeling the event as a party.

4. Really, these few months becomes a real, "last hoorah", for the time being, for you & your friends.

They say no matter how much time you've spent with someone or how much love you've put into them, proximity does affect a friendship. And I want to emphasize this point, not necessarily because this point is negative because it truly isn't; something I can attest and verify is that a lot of my close relationships have changed when my friends & I went off to our prospective schools. I've experienced these situations, having close friendships with older friends who went through college before me, and I truly understand all the difficulty.

Distance does change dynamic, but that's why it makes this time so special without thinking about it. You will be trying to navigate through a whole new part of your life in college, but that doesn't mean you have to leave past relationships behind.

During this time, I grew to enjoy my friends' time but try to plant a foundation in which the relationship still continues, hopefully, to continue to grow. You will make effort for those who you fit deserve it and vice versa. Change in friendships is scary only if you don't put value in it: college helped me see that but that time in-between help me realize that value prior.

5. And becomes this time brings that last bit of family and home before you go off to find all that in college.

I know a lot of maybe at that stage where we can't wait to be on our own. However, a big thing I realized was that daily, "insignificant" life when you're just existing at home was really filled with your family who you lived with. I can attest that when I started being close to people here in college, it still hadn't yet bloomed into what space your family takes up in your personal life. It was a weird reflection I had that summer, and an odd realization this school year, but it made me humble in thinking about how much my family was a part of me.

6. In all honesty, laughs and all, reality starts sinking in that you are entering the next phase with more self-responsibility and one step closer to adulthood.

They're not kidding when they say, "you'll learn about yourself within your first year of college." You'll definitely gain a lot of knowledge from your education but I'd argue the most examined pieces of knowledge you'll encounter will be about yourself. During my in-between summer, I reflected a lot on how I can shape this change for the bettering of this so-called self-discovery.

Many of my older friends told me that these kinds of things you can't just organize; so for once in my life, I chose to let things happen for the first year and I can say it was the best thing I let myself do. I've learned so much about myself, good and bad, and I encourage you to take this mindset into consideration, as it does seem very easy in theory but can become difficult at the moment.

7. Just don't forget to not miss the small, beautiful moments in this phase of life.

Again, I worked myself up a lot, especially through high school. But as carefree and thoughtless I thought my in-between summer was, looking back at the mental choices and intentional talks I had, it was a time of recollection, something I needed before the mayhem of college. I think this time is a different time of need for everyone, just sometimes we don't just always know what that exactly is until our time is up.

8. So all I can advise you is to simply enjoy the in-between.

Be silly. Go do something you've never done around your town before. Dress up. Go on a road trip or adventure. Just go out and experience what you feel will shape you, gain from, better know yourself by doing it all apologetically.

Make every day count in these couple months, and if they don't seem worth it to you change your perspective or change your experience. I guarantee you this summer is a lot more fun and self-fulfilling than you'll realize. What you think is home is no longer what home is, but rather from now on, a home will forever be where you make of it.